Sculpture? It’s a Klapper! Ballet in Bel Air

Dr. Robert Klapper is one amazing guy. He's a world-renowned orthopedic surgeon whose patients include Dustin Hoffman, Sasha Baron Cohen and Brett Ratner. He holds numerous patents for surgical tools. He is an avid surfer. He sculpts pietas out of imported Italian marble from the same quarry that Michelangelo used. And, at the opening of his exhibit at his own art gallery this past Saturday night, we overheard someone saying that he is always upbeat and cheerful. Always.
True to form, Klapper was charming the socks off of his patients (Elliot Gould was the only recognizable face), friends and supporters at the Klapper Gallery on Beverly Boulevard in the shadow of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he is the Clinical Chief of Orthopedic Surgery. Raised in New York, educated at Columbia and Cornell and now living in several homes in the southland, the good doctor is a Jewish mother's dream come true.

Sadly, Klapper's own mother was not there to bear witness to what he appears to consider his greatest accomplishment: a gallery full of gleaming white half-finished Michelangelo-inspired marble statues. His mother-in-law was there and she's a huge fan of The Jewish Journal.

The exhibit, titled "Michelangelo's Slaves," pays homage to the great artist's unfinished slaves lining the walkway leading up to the monumental David. Klapper was particularly taken by the slaves' struggle to break free from the stone surrounding them and has mimicked that style in every one of his sculptures.

The subjects he decided to chisel out of the incredibly heavy slabs of stone shipped to Los Angeles from Carrara in large boxes, called coffins, reflect the doctor's scattered interests: Abraham, "The Sixth Sense," The Surfer, "Ghost," Noah, Mary, Pieta...

It seemed odd that a Jewish man would be moved to lovingly recreate a pivotal moment in Christian iconography, but then the artist explained that a mother losing her son is a universally touching subject.

And Klapper is all about touching: touching people's lives as a healer and touching people's hearts with his art. This man may not be the next Michelangelo, but he sure is enjoying life a great deal more than the notoriously melancholy and dissatisfied Renaissance man.

When Daniel Pearl visited Mumbai, India for the first time, he was elated to discover a local jazz club, where he was invited to share his musical talent by playing alongside the regulars. The late journalist's father, Judea Pearl, shared this anecdote at a sumptuous Indian feast of sag paneer and curry at the home of Dr. B.K. and Mrs. Veena Mod in Beverly Hills, where Judea and his wife, Ruth Pearl, were honored. Indian dignitaries, the Hon. Vilasrao Deshmukh, chief minister of Maharashtra, and the Hon. Ashok Chavan, cabinet minister of industries and culture paid tribute to the Pearls' work through the Daniel Pearl Foundation, which promotes cross-cultural understanding through journalism and music-Daniel Pearl's favorite pursuits.

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Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Los Angeles) was honored with the California Distinguished Advocacy Award for his public policy work on behalf of cancer prevention. Allan and Dorothy Jonas and Helene Brown hosted the American Cancer Society benefit Aug. 8 at the Regency Club. Waxman is known, among other things, for sponsoring a controversial bill banning federal funding for the Red Line subway in response to a methane gas explosion in the Fairfax district in 1985. When underground tunneling was deemed safe again, he introduced a bill lifting the ban, which passed unanimously in September 2006. He is also widely recognized for his hard-hitting approach to fighting the tobacco industry.

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After my fellow Calendar Girl Dikla Kadosh wrote a critical review of a June 28 Sababa party in Hollywood, the disgruntled organizer bombarded her with angry e-mails disputing her report that attendance was low. An acquaintance of ours attended the most recent Sababa bash on Aug. 9 and informed us that once again the party suffered from slim attendance. Coincidence, or catastrophe?

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Bel Air met the ballet, Chanel and Wolfgang Puck on July 24 when Robin and Elliott Broidy hosted 360 guests at an American Ballet Theatre (ABT) fundraiser dinner. Co-chaired by Avery and Andy Barth, Lori and Michael Milken and Laura and Jamie Rosenwald, the event raised eyebrows and $325 grand. Four-thousand red and white roses bloomed toward the stars while lilies and gardenias floated in the pool. ABT's principal dancers performed scenes from "Sleeping Beauty," "Gopak" and "Don Quixote" atop a stage covered in cascading ivy and flanked by phalaenopsis orchids. Wolfgang Puck Catering nourished guests Sheriff Lee Baca, Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, Florence and Harry Sloan and designer Monique Lhuillier with sweet corn risotto and miso-glazed salmon, while ladies in designer drapery were careful not to spill.

From left, hosts Elliott and Robin Broidy with co-chairs Lori and Michael Milken

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